1. Field of Invention
Aspects of this invention are related to minimally invasive surgical instruments, and more particularly to providing electrical contact to a rotating shaft in a minimally invasive surgical instrument.
2. Art
In certain circumstances, it is desirable to positively establish an electrical connection with the main instrument shaft of a minimally invasive surgical instrument. In certain electrocautery applications, such as Active Electrode Monitoring® electrocautery systems available from Encision Inc., Boulder, Colo., the instrument shaft tube is used as an electrically conductive shield. This shield is monitored for stray electrocautery energy, which may indicate that such energy may unintentionally injure the patient.
For teleoperated robotic surgical systems, instrument architectures may require that in order to roll the instrument shaft, the roll drive input be spatially displaced from the shaft by, e.g., two or more inches. And further, the instrument architectures may dictate that an electrically conductive connector for electrocautery equipment must also be spatially displaced from the instrument shaft. Various ways of establishing an electrical contact with a rolling shaft are known. What is desired, however, is a simple way of establishing an electrically conductive path between a rolling instrument shaft and an electrically conductive connector that is spatially displaced from the shaft.